Advantages of a ceramic pour over coffee maker

Pour over coffee makers come in various shapes, sizes, and materials. Most commonly, you’ll see pour over drippers made of plastic, glass, ceramic, and steel while a few interesting pour over coffee makers even use wood or cloth. Well, the material of the dripper cone actually makes a difference in the taste of your resulting pour over coffee and offers advantages and disadvantages to users.

We’ve had friends and strangers alike ask us the same question countless times: “Which version of the V60/Kalita/x pour over coffee maker should I get?” We’ve talked about the advantages of a glass pour over coffee maker, but ceramic is also a great choice for the reasons below.

The Kalita Wave in ceramic, stainless steel, and glass.

A ceramic pour over coffee maker retains heat.

In fact, ceramic retains heat better than glass does and won’t feel as hot to the touch. Both ceramic and glass pour over coffee drippers are equally good for maintaining the temperature of your brew while extraction is underway, and popular ones like the Hario V60 and Kalita Wave come in both ceramic and glass versions so you can choose the one you like best.

A ceramic pour over coffee maker is colorful.

We know, we know – this isn’t actually an advantage at all in terms of pour over coffee brewing. However, it’s nice to have some variation in your pour over coffee drippers, isn’t it? If you’re a coffee geek with multiple types of coffee brewing in a single day, this could even help in differentiating the drippers you’re using for each bean.

A ceramic pour over coffee maker is more durable.

Glass may break, metal may dent, but a ceramic pour over coffee maker should be able to withstand a few knocks (but, of course, not a long drop). We like that ceramic pour over coffee makers like the Melitta and Bee House are well-glazed, which means that they won’t absorb the scent of prior brews and are also easy to clean.

Yes, plastic pour over coffee makers can be colorful as well and are inarguably the most durable materials around, but the chemical smells and tastes it imparts is a complete deal-breaker for hot beverages like coffee and tea (not to mention the potential toxins you may be drinking in). Ceramic has been used for centuries in cooking and food preparation, so you really can’t go wrong with a ceramic pour over coffee maker.